Page 7 - MEOG Week 38

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metres of storage.
A QP subsidiary, Qatar terminal Ltd (QtL),
already has 50% of the terminal’s capacity con- tracted under long-term agreements.
“Qatar Petroleum has long invested in and anchored LNG receiving terminal capacity in Europe, a key LNG market, as part of our supply destination portfolio diversification strategy,” al-Kaabi said at the signing ceremony for the deal.
“We’re going to do more in Europe – you’re going to see,” he was quoted by Reuters as saying separately last week, after the Zeebrugge LNG capacity agreement had already been reached.
meanwhile, Exxonmobil’s head of global LNG marketing, Alex Volkov, was reported as saying at the Gastech conference in Houston that the partners in Golden Pass LNG might even- tually finalise some long-term offtake deals for the project. Exxonmobil and QP reached FID on the project without announcing any long-term offtake agreements, setting them aside from other Us LNG project developers, which rely on such deals to secure financing.
However, some deals for the project may have already been finalised without being publi- cised. “Who’s to say we hadn’t firmed up some of those volumes before we FID-ed Golden Pass?” Volkov said. “We will continue to do so, but will also remain flexible.”
What next?
Qatar is one of the countries that could benefit if the Us’ trade war with China drags on. The latter is on course to become the world’s largest importer of LNG, but is currently staying away from Us exports, having recently raised its tariffs
on Us LNG to 25%. Australia and Qatar will be keen to capitalise on this before the trade war is resolved.
meanwhile, as it broadens its search for new buyers into new areas, QP announced this week that it had formed a joint venture with Royal Dutch shell on global LNG bunkering. the JV will secure LNG supplies, set up bunkering infrastructure in strategic spots globally and sell its supplies as a marine fuel to customers.
“We see LNG bunkering as a promising solu- tion for the shipping industry in light of a con- tinuously evolving regulatory environment, and as an important opportunity to enhance LNG’s position as a clean energy source, particularly in maritime transportation,” al-Kaabi said at the signing ceremony for the deal. “LNG demand for bunkering is expected to grow significantly over the coming years, and we believe there is a real potential for such demand to reach 35mn tpy by 2035. This requires focused investments and collaboration among all industry players to provide the required solutions our customers are looking for.”
At the same time, work on the North Field expansion continues. Also this week, QP issued invited companies to bid for engineering, pro- curement and construction (EPC) contracts related to the project. The contracts will cover additional liquid products storage and load- ing facilities and mono-ethylene glycol (mEG) storage and distribution facilities, which will be located in Ras Laffan Industrial City.
more news can be expected to come from QP or its subsidiaries in the coming months as its expansion plans at home and abroad move forward.™
QP CEO and Minister of State for Energy, Saad Sherida al-Kaabi
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